Provision of notification following a call to a predetermined number such as such as a 9-1-1 or other emergency call has been disclosed. The disclosed notifications are either automatically triggered by a 9-1-1 call detected somewhere in a telecommunication system other than the origin of the call or triggered by a follow-up information request by a PSAP (Public Safety Answering Position; sometimes referred to as a Public Safety Answering Point) or other emergency services personnel. For example, notification that a 9-1-1 call has occurred is disclosed as being automatically generated by monitoring voice telephone trunks in U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,126 to Carrier et al. for “Emergency Alert and Security Apparatus and Method”, issued Mar. 16, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as “Carrier”); by monitoring SS7 messages in U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,001 B1 to Contractor et al. for “System and Method for Notification of 911 Telephone Calls using a Link Monitoring System”, issued Jul. 30, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as “Contractor”); and by using an ALI (Automatic Location Identification, or Automatic Location Information) system trigger in U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,385 to Reich et al. for “System for the Automatic Notification that a 9-1-1 Call has Occurred”, issued Nov. 21, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as “Reich”). Notification that a 9-1-1 call has occurred is also disclosed as being automatically generated by monitoring wireless or wireline calls at a point along a network path in U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,356 to Salvucci et al. for “Real-Time Incident and Response Information Messaging in a System for the Automatic Notification That an Emergency Call Has Occurred from a Telecommunication Device”, issued Aug. 10, 2004 (hereinafter referred to as “Salvucci1”); and in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0105529 of Jun. 3, 2004, by Salvucci et al. for “Real-Time Incident and Response Information Messaging in a System for the Automatic Notification That an Emergency Call Has Occurred from a Wireless Telecommunication Device”, a Division of Salvucci1 (hereinafter referred to as “Salvucci2”).
Notification generated following a request by emergency services personnel is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,670 to Pons et al. for “Private Notification System for Communicating 9-1-1 Information”, issued Sep. 8, 1998 (hereinafter referred to as “Pons”); and by U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,812 to Gentillin et al. for “Method and Apparatus for Providing Emergency Response Information” issued Jul. 29, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as “Gentillin”).
Notification using a hybrid method, where an alternate embodiment of the current 9-1-1 ALI system identifies a notification subscriber but the PSAP call taker initiates the notification sequence, is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,545 to Antonucci et al. for “System for Providing Expanded Emergency Service Communication in a Telecommunication Network”, issued Jul. 1, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as “Antonucci”).
Sending critical subscriber data, such as subscriber language preference, medical conditions or records, building layouts from either a single database or from third party stores to public safety personnel, subscribers, or other third parties is described in Pons, Antonucci and Gentillin.
All of these patents require arrangements for monitoring various system components other than the origin of the phone call or participation by emergency service or other personnel for identifying that an emergency service call has been placed to initiate a process resulting in notifications being made.
There are numerous patents disclosing Central Station Alarm or Personal Emergency Response (PERS) systems. In many of these systems, either an electronic sensor or a call button transmits an emergency services request signal to a central monitoring service operator. A human or computer operator evaluates the emergency services request signal and then contacts a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to request emergency dispatch by First Responders (police, fire or EMT) to selected signals. These emergency signal requests are not automatically routed to PSAP dispatch centers in the same way as 9-1-1 calls made from wired or wireless phones today, although systems that could enable such interconnection in the future have been disclosed. Other Central Station Alarm or Personal Emergency Response (PERS) systems have been disclosed which interface with the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) using either wired or wireless technologies to make a 9-1-1 call on behalf of a user who may not be able to complete an emergency call request due to disability or remoteness.
In a system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,614,883 to Baum et al. for “Emergency Call System” (hereinafter referred to as “Baum”), a user depresses a key or button on an emergency call unit or on a pendant that the user is wearing to initiate notification to a plurality of other parties using a pre-programmed message.
There is a need for a system and method for effecting prearranged notification following placing of a call using a predetermined number such as, by way of example and not by way of limitation, an emergency number, which system is installable and programmable by a user without requiring sophisticated monitoring of remote aspects of a telecommunication system.